PROVIDENCE, R.I.--Heading into the weekend, the Harvard men's basketball team was poised to sweep Yale and Brown, formerly the Ivy's easiest road trip, and stay undefeated in the league.

Instead, the Crimson (7-9, 2-2 Ivy) returned to Cambridge in a mess after losing to Yale Friday night, 69-61, and dropping a 78-68 decision to Brown Saturday. The losses leave Harvard in the middle of the pack, while the Bulldogs and the Bears make an unlikely pair of first-place teams.

Brown 78, Harvard 68

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The Bears (5-7, 2-0), coming off a win over free-falling Dartmouth the previous night, found a way to overcome the height advantage it gave to Harvard: let freshman swingman Earl Hunt find his spots and create havoc from the outside.

With Harvard defenders overplaying and leaving him open in the corners, Hunt scored 30 of his game-high 39 points in the first half. Hunt took 14 of his team's 24 first-half shots, going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. He also scored the last 16 points for Brown to turn a six-point deficit into a 40-37 halftime lead.

"I've been doing this for 28 years, and I've never seen a guy get 30 in a half," said Harvard coach Frank Sullivan. "[Hunt] was in rhythm, he was smooth."

The Crimson managed to stay in it in the first half largely on the play of junior center Tim Coleman, who bullied his way down low for 14 points in the half. Coleman's four offensive rebounds also led to Harvard's fourteen second-chance points.

Freshman point guard Elliott Prasse-Freeman was also impressive, hitting Coleman on lob passes underneath and finding backdoor cutters for easy baskets. He finished the first half with seven assists and only three turnovers.